A Library Fairy and some changes

Sorry for the late post. I was really stumped on what to blog about, so I did a quick drawing of an idea I was thinking about at the time: the Library Fairy.

I think the concept is fun, but I can't say I'm super thrilled with how the drawing/painting part turned out. The pen work isn't my best and the colors feel too muddy. But at least the idea is out on paper. If I have time, I may do another version.

Also wanted to share a few up coming changes. After much thought, I've decided to update this blog less frequently. Blogging every week has been good for me in the past, but at the moment, I'm working on some larger projects that require a lot of time and aren't ready to share yet. I'm also thinking of getting an actual, fancy pants website, but that might take awhile to get off the ground. We'll see.

As of now, I'm thinking my update schedule will be either once every two weeks, or once a month. I'll have to see with schedule works better. I'm a bit sad blogging less, but I think the change will be good. And I'm excited about working on bigger ideas! ^_^

onward and upward,

Bethany

"Phoenix Warrior" painting commission process

Back from break and I've got some new stuff to share! Right before taking some time off, I finished up a painting commission for my friend Brandon. He asked for a piece of fantasy art with an epic looking warrior in it. After a lot of brainstorming, I came with the idea of a warrior silhouetted against a fire bird. Here's my initial composition thumbnail. 

I did a bunch of rough sketches to figure out the armor, helmet, and weapon details.

I also did a small, painted thumbnail to figure out what colors to use.

I even did a digital mock up version to help me think through how the lighting would work.

With all the prep work out of the way, there was nothing left to do but start (which is always really scary!)

(Also, sorry for not including a picture of the drawing before I started in with the watercolor. I never seem to remember to take pictures of paintings when they're in the drawing stage! :-/)

Painting this was definitely a nerve-wracking process. One false move and the whole thing could be ruined. But through persistence (and praying), I got through and am pretty happy with the final results. Brandon really liked it too and it's now happily sitting on his wall. :-)

onward and upward,

Bethany